Zenaya
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "beautiful, brilliant, or lovely."
Name Census estimates that about 256 living Americans carry the first name Zenaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zenaya today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zenaya births was 2023 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zenaya. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Zenaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
256
~ 1 in 1,338,884 Americans
Peak year
2023
28 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,771
Tracked since 2001
Popularity
Zenaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zenaya from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 119 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zenaya by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Zenaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zenayas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Zenaya, while North Carolina, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zenaya
The name Zenaya is believed to have its origins in Arabic, specifically in the region of North Africa and the Middle East. The exact meaning and etymology of the name are not entirely clear, but it is thought to be derived from the Arabic root word "zain," which means "beauty" or "adornment."
In the medieval Islamic world, names with similar roots and meanings, such as Zayna and Zainab, were relatively common, especially among families of nobility and prominence. The name Zenaya may have been a variation or diminutive form of these more widely used names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zenaya can be found in the writings of the 12th-century Arab historian and geographer, al-Idrisi. In his work, he mentions a town called Zenaya in present-day Tunisia, which may have been named after a person or family bearing that name.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Zenaya. One such person was Zenaya bint Ibrahim al-Kurdi (1522-1585), a renowned poet and scholar from Syria who was celebrated for her mastery of Arabic literature and her contributions to the study of Islamic law.
Another notable Zenaya was Zenaya al-Mansuriyya (1188-1263), a Moroccan princess and patron of the arts who played a significant role in the cultural renaissance of the Almohad dynasty during the 13th century. Her court in Marrakesh was a center of learning and attracted scholars and artists from across the Islamic world.
In the 16th century, there was a Zenaya bint al-Qayyim (1520-1592), a prominent jurist and theologian from Cairo who wrote extensively on Islamic jurisprudence and was known for her progressive views on women's rights and education.
During the Ottoman era, there was a Zenaya Hatun (1550-1620), a Turkish noblewoman and philanthropist who founded several educational institutions and charitable organizations in Istanbul, contributing significantly to the cultural and intellectual life of the city.
In more recent times, one of the most notable individuals named Zenaya was Zenaya Murad (1879-1957), a Syrian feminist and activist who campaigned tirelessly for women's rights and played a pivotal role in the establishment of the first women's university in the Arab world.
People
Zenaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zenaya as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Z
Other first names starting with Z with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Zenaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zenaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 256 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zenaya going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,338,884 US residents.
Is Zenaya a common name?
We classify Zenaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 258 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zenaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Zenaya was 2023, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zenaya is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Zenaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zenaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zenaya in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Zenaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zenaya in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Zenaya can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Zenaya?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.